System and method for computerized psychological content analysis of computer and media generated communications to produce communications management support, indications and warnings of dangerous behavior, assessment of media images, and personnel selection support

ABSTRACT

At least one computer-mediated communication produced by or received by an author is collected and parsed to identify categories of information within it. The categories of information are processed with at least one analysis to quantify at least one type of information in each category. A first output communication is generated regarding the at least one computer-mediated communication, describing the psychological state, attitudes or characteristics of the author of the communication. A second output communication is generated when a difference between the quantification of at least one type of information for at least one category and a reference for the at least one category is detected involving a psychological state, attitude or characteristic of the author to which a responsive action should be taken. The content of the second output communication and the at least one category are programmable to define a psychological state, attitude or characteristic in response to which an action should be taken and the action that is to be taken in response.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/368,320, filed Feb. 10, 2009 (issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 7,801,724 onSep. 21, 2010), which, in turn, is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/970,135, filed Jan. 7, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,526,426), which, in turn, is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/393,950 filed Mar. 24, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,346,492),which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/767,838 filed Jan. 24, 2001 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,058,566) and isrelated to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/426,014 filedNov. 14, 2002, which applications are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to systems and methods for analyzingcomputer-mediated communications, including computer generatedcommunications and other communications that have been digitized and fedinto a computer.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Psychological profiling algorithms have been developed based upon thework of Walter Weintraub. Weintraub has identified 14 critical speechcategories, as listed in FIG. 1, which are believed by psychologists toreflect the operation of psychological coping mechanisms or defenses.Weintraub's opinion is that the distribution of these variablesindicates the distribution of defenses in an individual and providesinsight into the individual's psychological state or personality.Weintraub's and his colleague's original research dates from 1964.

This original research demonstrated differences in the distribution ofthese categories of speech as used by normal persons and persons withdifferent forms of psycho-pathology, including depression,impulsiveness, delusions and compulsiveness. Weintraub profiled andcompared political leaders, such as participants in the Watergate matterin 1981. In 1989, he extended his methodology for leadership profilingto the assessment and comparison of United States Presidents, includingEisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan.

Over the past 35 years, Weintraub's algorithms have also been used toanalyze the speech and written products of leaders, to develop in-depthpsychological profiles of these individuals and comparisons betweenthem. Weintraub has also discussed the possibility of providingcomputerized portions of his algorithms to expedite the analyticalprocess, but he never did so.

However, Weintraub's algorithms are not known by the public to have beenapplied to the evaluations of changes in an individual's psychologicalstate over time, to the communications of normal employees in theworkplace, to computer-mediated communications, e.g. email and chat, togenerating a warning of a potentially dangerous change in anindividual's psychological state, to self-monitoring of a person'spsychological state, to assessment of the emotional tone ofcomputer-mediated communications or media coverage, or to personnelselection.

The Weintraub algorithms quantify the number of words and relevantevents in the speech categories of FIG. 1. The total word count for eachcategory may be multiplied by a corrective figure, which is obtained bydividing 1,000 by the number of words in the sample and rounding off tothree decimal places, to provide a normalized basis for comparison.

The Weintraub algorithms may be used to profile the followingpsychological states:

1. Indicators of Anger—

-   -   Increases in the number of:        -   words        -   personal references        -   negatives        -   evaluators        -   statements of feeling        -   direct references        -   rhetorical questions        -   interruptions        -   I        -   We    -   Decreases in the number of:        -   qualifiers        -   retractors

2. Indicators of Anxiety—

-   -   Increases in the number of:        -   retractors        -   qualifiers        -   expressions of feeling        -   negatives        -   explainers

3. Indicators of Depression—

-   -   decreased number of words    -   increased I    -   increased me    -   increased negative key words    -   increased direct references    -   increased expressions of feeling    -   increased evaluators    -   increased adverbial intensifiers

4. Indicators of Emotional withdrawal—

-   -   decreased number of words    -   decreased number of communications    -   decreased I score    -   decreased personal references    -   decreased expressions of feelings    -   decreased evaluators

5. Indicators of Rigidity or lack of flexibility—

-   -   decreased number of qualifiers    -   decreased number of retractors    -   decreased we's    -   increased I's    -   decreased explainers    -   increased evaluators    -   increased adverbial intensifiers

6. Indicators of Impulsiveness—

-   -   increased retractors    -   increased expressions of feeling

7. Indicators of Emotional instability—

-   -   increased I-to-We ratio    -   increased adverbial intensifiers    -   increased direct references    -   increased expression of feelings    -   increased evaluators

Score Interpretations of Weintraub's psychological profiling algorithmshave been suggested as follows:

1. I scores—

-   -   high I score—self-preoccupied    -   moderate I—healthy ability to commit self in thought and action        while maintaining degree of autonomy    -   low I—avoidance of candor, intimacy, commitment

2. We scores—

-   -   moderate score—healthy capacity to recognize and collaborate        with others    -   high we+low I—avoidance of intimacy and commitment

3. Me—

-   -   high use reflects dependence and passivity

4. Negatives—

-   -   high scores associated with stubbornness, oppositionality,        anger, use of denial as defense mechanism

5. Qualifiers—

-   -   low score—dogmatism—over-certainty, rigidity    -   high score—lack of decisiveness, avoidance of commitment    -   very high score—anxiety

6. Retractors—

-   -   high score—difficulty adhering to previous decisions,        impulsiveness    -   moderate—mature capacity to reconsider, flexibility, openness to        new possibility    -   very low—dogmatism, rigidity

7. Direct References—

-   -   high scores—difficulty with correspondence or conversation,        seeking to distract or manipulate    -   low or absent—shyness, aloofness, anxiety

8. Explainers—

-   -   high—use of rationalization    -   low or absent—dogmatism, rigidity

9. Expressions of Feeling—

-   -   low score—aloofness, hesitant to share feelings, trust    -   high score—insincere, histrionic

10. Evaluators—

-   -   high scores—severe or troubled conscience, psychopathology,        anger, dogmatism, rigidity    -   Low scores—fear of intimacy, lack of commitment

11. Adverbial Intensifiers—

-   -   high scores indicate histrionic personality, exaggeration,        rigidity, judgmental

12. Rhetorical Questions—

-   -   increase anger and an effort to control the dialogue

13. Interruptions—

-   -   increased anger and an effort to dominate

The specialized composite scores with relevance for personalrelationships, organizational behavior and leadership remain unpublishedbut include:

-   -   emotionally controlled—low anxiety and depression scores    -   sensitivity to criticism—high negatives+high explainers+high        I+me    -   accommodating versus rivalrous—low to moderate negatives and        moderate to high retractors    -   oppositional—high negatives score.    -   controlling in relationships—low score on negatives, feelings,        evaluators, and qualifiers    -   passive vs. active—high me score    -   planner vs. reactor—high I+we to me ratio    -   decisiveness—low to moderate qualifiers    -   unrealistic—high negatives    -   high need for others—high we    -   high need for achievement—high I+We, low me, low qualifiers    -   dependent—high me plus high evaluators, negatives, feelings    -   well organized—high I+we, low me, low qualifiers, low        evaluators, low feelings, low negatives    -   narcissistic—high negatives+high explainers+high evaluators,        high I, low qualifiers    -   obsessive—high evaluators+high negatives+low retractors, low me,        low qualifiers, low feelings    -   paranoid—high negatives, high explainers, low retractors    -   loner vs. team player—high I, low we or I to We

However, Weintraubs algorithms have not been tested or validated for usewith computer-mediated communications, media communications, orself-monitoring or in personnel selection. They have not been used tomonitor and evaluate changes in emotional state over time, nor have theybeen applied to the detection and warning of at-risk states. Thisvalidation work will be required for a reliable and valid operationalsystem. The current invention also adds multiple variables to theWeintraub categories (e.g. negative and positive feelings, negative andpositive evaluators) and uses an original computerizeddictionary—presently containing over 1400 words coded for emotionaltone. This dictionary is continually updated as data is collected fromsubject samples.

Beginning in the late 1950's, Gottschalk demonstrated that the arousalassociated with psychological events plays an important role in theoccurrence of epileptic seizures in children and later (1955) in adults.While working at the National Institute of Mental Health, Gottschalk andhis colleagues explored differences in the effects of different forms ofstimulation on speech variables, such as rate, frequency, duration ofpauses, grammatical categories and parts of speech (Gottschalk andHambridge, 1955). Later, Gottschalk and his colleagues examineddifferences in speech between psychotic and non-psychotic patients(Gottschalk, Glessner and Hambridge, 1957). In 1958, Gottschalkconducted a time series analysis of the verbal behavior of a singlepsychoanalytic patient to determine any possible effects of the therapy(Hambridge and Gottschalk, 1958).

In the 1960's, Gottschalk worked with Dr. Golding Glenser at theUniversity of Cincinnati. This work identified variations in the use ofparts of speech by normal individuals according to gender andintelligence (for example, Gleser, Gottschalk and John 1959; Gottschalkand Gleser, 1964). Gottshalk and Gleser (1960) also used their contentanalysis method to distinguish genuine from pseudo-suicide notes. By theend of the 1960's, Gotschalk and his colleagues added new complexity totheir content analysis method by moving from the analysis of individualwords to more complex phrases. In 1969, Gottshalk and Gleser described amethod for determining an individual's psychological state (anxiety,hostility, alienation, and disorganization) from brief samples of speech(Gottshalk and Gleser 1969). Gottschalk, Wingate and Glesner (1969),have described their content analysis scales in a scoring manual. Since1969, Gottschalk and colleagues have applied their methods to the studyof medical conditions, medications, treatment, and psychologicalconditions on children, adolescents and adults. This work has beensummarized in Gottschalk (1995).

Gottshalk and his colleagues have computerized their content analyticalscales in order to make them more efficient and more widely available toother researchers. These efforts are also described in Gottschalk (1995,pgs. 157-160).

Gottschalk and his colleagues have produced a content analytical systemthat can detect emotional states and changes in emotional states inindividuals as a result of a wide range of psychological and medicalconditions and treatments. The have also measured changes in thesestates in individuals over time and designed a computerized version ofthe system.

However, Gottschalk and his colleagues have not utilized theiralgorithms regarding communications by normal employees in theworkplace, computer-mediated communications, e.g. email and chat, thegeneration of a warning of a potentially dangerous change in anindividual's psychological state, or self-monitoring of a psychologicalstate. Nor have they utilized their approach for the assessment of mediaimages or personnel selection or screening.

Margaret Hermann, over the last 25 years, has used content analysis forpsychological profiling. In 1977, Herman (with Thomas Milburn) edited anacademic collection entitled “A Psychological Examination of PoliticalLeaders”, (New York Free Press 1977). This text brought together thework of psychologists and political scientists interested in the remoteassessment of leadership characteristics utilizing content analysis ofthe leader's speech and writings. It also contains chapters bypolitical-psychological profilers on the history and differentapproaches to political psychological content analysis, including ValueAnalysis (White 1951), Evaluation Assertion Analysis (Osgood 1959), thePsychologic (Shneidman 1961, 1963), General Inquirer (Stone, Dunphy,Smith and Ogilvie 1966), and Mode of Imagery (Winter 1973). Hermann, in1977, in a chapter entitled, “Vocal Behavior of Negotiators in Periodsof High and Low Stress: the 1965-1966 New York City TransitNegotiations,” described a content analytical system that analyzed thepsychological state of political leaders involved over time and indifferent stress states. The collection of content analytical measuresdrew on the previous work of psychologists, political scientists andothers interested in the assessment of emotional states and theirchanges over time. In another chapter in the same text, she describedthree content analysis systems designed to assess a leader's beliefs,motives, decision-making and interpersonal style as it might affecttheir attitude toward foreign aid. These personal characteristicsincluded optimism, cognitive complexity, and humanitarian ideology. Theresults of the study related variations in these characteristics to thepolicy positions taken by the leaders examined. Both Herman and hercolleagues have refined and expanded the number of personalcharacteristics derived from content analysis of a leader's speeches orinterviews and detailed their effects on a leader's foreign policyorientation and likely political behavior. The personal characteristicsof nationalism, belief in one's ability to control events, need forpower, need for affiliation, conceptual complexity, self-confidence,distrust of others, and task orientation have been applied to over 100domestic and foreign political leaders, including heads of states andleaders of revolutionary and terrorist organizations.

Hermann uses scores obtained on a leader for each of the aforementionedeight personal characteristics to classify the leader in terms of sixpossible foreign policy orientations, including expansionist, activeindependent, influential, opportunist, mediator and developmental. Eachof the orientation types can be expected to differ in world view,political style, decision-making process, manner of dealing withpolitical rivals, and view of foreign policy.

Hermann has designed computerized approaches to her content analyticalsystem. However, complexity of coding required to produce measures formany of the characteristics has limited validity and reliability of theresultant automated process.

In summary, Hermann has designed a content analysis system to assess themotives, beliefs, decision-making and interpersonal style of politicalleaders. She has applied this system to the in-depth profiling ofsubjects, comparison with other leaders, and the assessment of thedynamics of leadership groups determined by member differences. She hasalso used the system to analyze a leader's reaction to distress.

However, Herman has not applied her system to the communications ofnormal employees in the workplace, to computer-mediated communications,e.g. email and chat, to media communications, to generating a warning ofa potentially dangerous change in an individual's psychological state;to self-monitoring of a psychological state or assessment of mediaimages or to management of computer-mediated communications or personnelselection issues.

Another measure of psychological state is described in Mehrabian andWiener (1966) which is identified herein as “Psychological Distance”.Psychological distance is an emotional state expressed by the speakertoward a target, individual or group. Because the speaker normallyunconsciously selects the semantic structures used to calculatepsychological distance, it is an excellent measure of “covert” attitude.When a speaker's covert attitude, as measured by psychologicaldistances, is compared with overt content of a speaker's remarks (thenumber of negative, positive or neutral words associated with the nameof an individual or group), it becomes a reliable measure of deceptionor bluffing. For example, if the overt attitude toward the person orgroup is positive and the covert attitude is negative, this is anindicator of deception. If the covert attitude towards the group orindividual is more positive than the overt attitude, this is anindicator of bluffing.

Psychological distance is scored according to the following guidelines.First, each reference by the speaker to the target is identified.Second, the word structures around the reference to the target areevaluated for the presence or absence of each of the nine conditionsbelow. Third, for each time one of these nine conditions is present, asingle score is received. Fourth, for each communication, an averagepsychological distance score is constructed by taking the number ofreferences to the target divided by the number of points received in thecommunication across all references to the target. This score is usuallybetween one and nine with the higher score indicating the presence ofgreater hostility or psychological distance.

Psychological Distance Coding Guideline

1. Spatial: the communicator refers to the object of communication usingdemonstrative pronouns such as “that” or “those.” E.g. “those peopleneed help” versus “these people need help.”

2. Temporal: the communicator's relationship with the object ofcommunication is either temporally past or future. E.g., “X has beenshowing me his house” versus “X is showing me his house.”

3. Passivity: the relationship between the communicator and the objectof communication is imposed on either or both of them. E.g., “I have tosee X” versus “I want to see X.”

4. Unilaterally: the relationship between communicator and the object ofcommunication is not mutually determined. E.g., “I am dancing with X”versus “X and I are dancing.”

5. Possibility: the relationship between the communicator and the objectof communication is possible rather than actual. E.g., “I could see X”versus “I want to see X.”

6. Part (of Communicator): only a part, aspect, or characteristic of thecommunicator is involved in the relationship with the object ofcommunication. E.g., “My thoughts are about X” versus “I am thinking ofX.”

7. Object (Part of Object): only a part, aspect, or characteristic ofthe object of communication is involved in the relationship with thecommunicator. E.g., “I am concerned about X's future” versus “I amconcerned about X.”

8. Class (of Communicator): a group of people who include thecommunicator is related to the object of communication. E.g., “X came tovisit us” versus “X came to visit me.”

9. Class (of Object): the object of communication is related to as agroup of objects, which includes the object of communication, e.g., “Ivisited X and his wife” versus “I visited X.”

However, Mehrabian and Wiener never computerized their system or appliedtheir measure of psychological distance to computer-generatedcommunications, detecting changes in employee groups over time,self-monitoring, assessment of media coverage, or personnel selectionissues.

In December 1999, at pages 43-44, in Security Management, it was stated:

-   -   “The [inventor's] firm, has developed psycho-linguistic measures        sensitive to changes in an employee's psychological state        indicative of increased risk. In the case of the employee who        abruptly changes tone in his email messages, post hoc use of        these measures detected both the employee's initial        disgruntlement and the contrast between his overt and covert        activities. Had these automated measures been monitored by        security, this incident might have been prevented”.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate slides presented by the present inventor atconferences on May 12, 1999, Jun. 17, 1999, Jul. 28, 1999, and Oct. 20,1999 to persons involved with the security industry. The slidesillustrate analysis of the electronic mail messages of an actualperpetrator of a computer crime which occurred several months after thee-mail messages were generated. The mean prior values of the number of“negatives”, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the number of “evaluators” asillustrated in FIG. 3, the “number of words per email”, as illustratedin FIG. 4, and the “number of alert phrases” as illustrated in FIG. 5were compared to the values obtained from analysis of an electronic mailmessage prior to and associated with the crime in question. The increaseover the mean values was discussed as indicating the risk of thecriminal activity in question. The slides of FIGS. 2-5 represent theinventor's analysis after the crime occurred of emails of theperpetrator of the crime in question and were not produced at the timeof the crime and were not produced by the present invention. As notedabove, the categories of evaluators and alert phrases have been modifiedand expanded since this presentation.

FIG. 6 illustrates a slide presented by the present inventor at theaforementioned conferences analyzing continued covert hostility versuspsychological distance over time. As time passed, the criminal whoseactivities are analyzed above in FIGS. 2-5 deceived his supervisor with“charming pleasantries” as the attack was prepared. Prior art emailscreening techniques would also have been deceived by the activities ofthe criminal. As is shown in FIG. 6, a continued high degree ofpsychological distance was exhibited in emails after the plan of theattack was occurring. This graph was produced by the analysis of theinventor, was not produced by an analysis of the criminal's activity asevents unfolded, and was not produced with the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates another slide provided by the present inventor at theaforementioned conferences illustrating indicators of psychologicaldistance versus overt attitude consistent with deception. Again, as isseen, the aforementioned conduct of the prior art of FIGS. 2-6 shows adrop in overt hostility from three months to two weeks prior to thecrime which deceived the criminal's supervisor, while the analysis, asdepicted in FIG. 6, shows a more or less constant continued coverthostility. The graph of FIG. 7 was produced by the present inventor'sanalysis and was not produced with the present invention.

Email-monitoring software for the securities industry has been developedas a result of a United States Securities and Exchange Commission orderthat brokerage houses monitor their sales force for illegal salespractices. This software detects key words indicative of potentialtrading sales violations.

As a result of increased employee use of information technology,non-psychological systems of employee monitoring have emerged which aredesigned to protect companies from employee misuse or other threats.These systems are operated by companies to monitor employee use ofinformation technology to detect patterns involving unauthorized visitsto internet sites, errors in the use of software requiring additionaltraining, and visits by email or other communications to or fromunauthorized sites within and external to the organization.

In addition, systems exist to detect occurrence of “keywords” indicativeof possible violations of law (the above-referenced security industriespractice) and regulations or the existence of possible securityviolations.

Other systems screen incoming and outgoing communications for theexistence of dangerous viruses and/or other destructive content.However, none of these systems currently assesses the psychological toneof computerized communications, the characteristics of authors of thesecommunications, or the psychological state of an employee to generate anindicator of risk, or use these results for the purpose of improvedmanagement of communications and relationships. Nor are these systemsutilized to evaluate the psychological content of media coverage or asan aid in personnel selection.

In 1984 Jarol Manheim and Robert Albritton published an article in theAmerican Political Science Review entitled “Changing National Images:International Public Relations and Media Agenda Setting.” In the articlethe authors proposed the assessment of the media image of a nationaccording to several criteria, including mean insertions per month (thenumber of times the nation is mentioned in the media) and the percent ofall insertions which were positive (page 654). This scheme was used todetermine the impact of the efforts of public relations firms on themedia image of target nations by tracking the number of insertions andthe percent of insertions which were positive before and after thepublic relations firm's efforts.

The current invention utilizes a related scheme to measure the quantityand emotional tone of communications. However, in addition to the numberof communications, the current invention utilizes the length, frequencyper time period and other characteristics of the communications. Inaddition to the percent of insertions which are positive, the currentinvention initially examines the percent which are positive andnegative. Instead of coding the percent positive by observation andhand, the current invention automatically codes the content of thecommunications in a more complex fashion utilizing psychological contentanalysis categories such as negative and positive feelings, negative andpositive evaluators and negatives. The user can then examine the actualcontent associated with this coding to determine the content associatedwith the emotional tone. In addition, the authors never applied theirscheme to the computerized communications of individuals, changes in theemotional tone of these communications over time, support for managingthese media- and computer-based relationships, monitoring and assessingpotential risk from an individual's psychological state, or personnelselection processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a method of and system for computerizedpsychological content analysis of computer and media generatedcommunications which provide real time analysis and outputcommunications to facilitate a user's evaluation of the frequency,psychological tone and psychological characteristics of the contentsfrom an author contained in a communication in order to assist the userin managing these relationships, a user's evaluation of the frequency,psychological tone and psychological characteristics contained in theuser's own communications (self-monitoring) to support improvedrelationship management, organizational and individual actions when aprogrammed and selectable psychological state of an author whooriginates or receives computer-mediated communications is detected towhich a responsive action should be taken. As a result, correctiveaction to an individual's projected course of behavior or the content ofa proposed computer mediated communication can be taken to lessen oreliminate that behavior to enhance the relationship and safety and theoperation of an organization to which the author is affiliated, or toprovide the author or someone else with the ability to alter the effecta computer mediated communication will have when transmitted. A user'sassessment of the media image of a person, group, organization or ideain terms of frequency or visibility and emotional tone or valence can beanalyzed in order to allow the user to take specific corrective actions.Likewise, a user can analyze the psychological characteristics of anindividual producing original application materials or other materialsused in the application process in an effort to obtain admission oraccess to an organization, group or individual (e.g. a job, aneducational program, or membership in a club or society, or socialinvolvement with an individual).

At least one computer or media generated communication produced by orreceived by an author is collected; the collected communication isparsed to identify categories of information therein; and the categoriesof information are processed with at least one analysis to quantify atleast one type of information in each category, such as specific wordsand word phrases which provide information about psychological state,attitudes, and characteristics of the author and which are sensitiveindicators of the changes in the psychological state, attitudes orcharacteristics of the author. An output communication is generatedaccording to user specifications, as selected, based on thequantification of at least one type of information for at least onecategory differing from a reference for the at least one category by atleast a criteria involving a psychological state, attitude orcharacteristic of the author in response to which it would be wise orbeneficial to take a responsive action to modify the relationship orimage, to intervene to avoid increased risk, or to include or excludefrom entry into a relationship, membership or affiliation. The contentof the output communication and the criteria are programmable to definethe desired descriptions of the psychological states, attitudes andcharacteristics, changes in these measures, and determination of when anaction should be taken in response to the psychological state. In caseswhere the change in psychological state involves an increased risk ofdangerous behavior, a suggested action (a warning, counseling orotherwise) to be taken in response to the psychological state is alsogenerated. A plurality of computer-mediated communications generatedover a period of time may be collected, parsed and processed to generatethe reference of the at least one type of information for each category.A more recent computer mediated communication may be collected andparsed to quantify the at least one type of information therein for eachcategory, with the output communication being generated when acomparison of the reference and the quantification of the currentcomputer mediated communication for at least one category reveals achange which differs from the reference from the at least one categoryby the criteria.

The plurality of analyses may comprise a psychological profilingalgorithm which provides an indication of a psychological state of theauthor of the analyzed communication, at least one key word algorithmwhich processes any phrases and/or threatening acts to further identifya psychological state, attitude or characteristic of the author and howthe author may react to the identified psychological state, and at leastone communication characteristic algorithm which analyzescharacteristics of the at least one computer mediated communication tofurther identify a psychological state and/or at least one possibleaction of the author.

The output communication may be programmed to be varied in nature toaddress diverse applications of the invention. The programming of thecontent of the output communication and the actions that should be takenpermits users of the invention to customize the criteria for screeningcomputer-mediated communications to detect those computer-mediatedcommunications which the user deems important enough to provide aresponsive action and further the nature of the action to be taken, suchas modifying communication with the author of the analyzedcommunication, issuing a written warning, or invoking psychologicalcounseling, so as to minimize or eliminate disruptive or dangeroussituations. For example, the output communication may be a warning thatthe analyzed communication contains high levels of negativity whichcould damage a potential relationship, that there has been a significantincrease in the percentage of media coverage which is negative, that theapplicant has psychological characteristics that have been selected bythe user for exclusion from admission, or in the case of potentiallydangerous behavior, that the psychological state of the author of theanalyzed communication portrays a significant increase in anger and thatexperts should be consulted to avoid escalation and danger. Theprogrammed criteria for generating the warning or other feedback areselected by the user. For example, the warning may be generated only ifa significant quantification of words of at least one computer mediatedcommunication produced by or received by the author fall withinidentified categories of information, or if a significant change overtime between an average, mean or other calculation or otherwisequantification of previous computer-mediated communications received orprepared by the author and a more recent computer mediated communicationis detected.

In response to detection of that condition, a qualified professional maybe automatically contacted by telephone, email or otherwise and assignedto assess the psychological state, attitudes or characteristics of theauthor reflected in at least one computer mediated communication. Theprofessional may be given the option to review the data generated fromthe at least one computer mediated communication, determine what actionsshould be taken, or in the case of risk of violence, determine if awarning should be given, and to further conduct analysis of the changedetected to determine its significance. This may be done with or withoutactual review of the content of the message. If actual review of thedata is required by the professional, access to the database storing theresults of the quantification of the at least one type of information ineach category of review may be provided online or otherwise.

User's of the invention will have options, including monitoringdesignated categories of individuals, communications, and employees,monitoring employees at risk or under suspension, and generalmonitoring.

For example, in organizations sensitive positions of trust exist wherethe employee has the capacity to significantly damage the organization.For example, system administrators running a bank's on-line customerservice operations or other information technology have the capacity tosubstantially damage the bank at will. Therefore, it is desirable thatadministrators having responsibility for critical businessinfrastructure be subject to higher levels of monitoring.

The invention permits the user to program the criteria involving apsychological state of the author and the content of the outputcommunication. Different levels of monitoring accompanied with outputcommunications designed specifically for the sensitivity of author'spositions are selectable. For example, accountant's have differentaccess to damage a company than do technical support staff, such asinformation technology professionals, which differences are reflected inthe programming. Determination of the criteria when the content ofcomputer-mediated communications exceeds the standard of review are alsoprogrammable.

Employees at risk or under suspension may include individuals onprobation due to psychological or behavioral difficulties that do notyet merit removal from the workplace or individuals who are returningfrom leave or rehabilitation after removal due to these difficulties.This type of employee may include individuals under investigation for aviolation.

A self-monitoring embodiment uses the psychological profiling algorithmsdiscussed above and below to produce graphics or tabular ratings of thecontent of a computer mediated communication, scoring for emotionaltone, psychological state or psychological characteristics. Thereafter,the embodiment produces recommendations for corrective actions to changethe emotional tone, psychological state, or characteristics which permitthe author to again use the psychological profiling algorithms on thechanged computer mediated communication to check for improvement in adesired programmable measure.

A method of computer analysis of computer-mediated communications inaccordance with the invention includes collecting at least one computermediated communication produced by or received by an author, parsing thecommunication to identify categories of information therein, processingthe categories of information with at least one analysis to quantify atleast one type of information in each category, and generating an outputcommunication when a difference between the quantification of at leastone type of information for at least one category and a reference forthe at least one category is detected involving a psychological state,attitude or psychological characteristic of the author to which aresponsive action should be taken, the at least one category beingprogrammable to define a psychological state, attitude or characteristicin response to which an action should be taken and possible actions thatmay be taken in response to the defined psychological state.

The method further may include a plurality of computer-mediatedcommunications generated over a period of time which are collected,parsed and processed to generate the reference of the at least one typeof information for each category, collecting, parsing and processing amore recent computer mediated communication to quantify the at least onetype of information therein for each category, and generating an outputcommunication when the difference between the reference of at least onecategory and the quantification of the current computer mediatedcommunication for the at least one category is detected involving apsychological state, attitude or characteristic of the author to whichthe responsive action should be taken. Only one computer mediatedcommunication needs to be collected, parsed and processed.

The output communication may indicate that the author or his or hercommunication should be studied. One or more analyses may be used toprocess the categories of information, with the analyses including atleast one psychological profiling algorithm which provides an indicationof a psychological state, attitude or characteristics of the author, atleast one key word algorithm which processes any phrases and/orthreatening acts to further identify a psychological state of the authorand how the author may react to the identified psychological state,attitude or characteristic, and at least one communicationcharacteristic algorithm which analyzes characteristics of the at leastone computer mediated or media generated communication to identify apsychological state, attitude or characteristic and/or at least onepossible action of the author.

The at least one computer mediated communication may be collected by anindividual, an organization to which the author is affiliated or isseeking affiliation, or a consumer of media services; and the outputcommunication may be present on a system of the individual or theorganization and is directed to or from the individual or organization.Each reference may be set by the individual or organization. Only onecomputer mediated communication needs to be collected by an individualor organization to which the author is affiliated or in communicationwith; and the output communication may be directed to the individualuser or the organization and pertains to further action to be takenregarding the author. Each reference may be static and indicative that apsychological state, attitude or characteristic of the author is ofinterest or concern to the individual or organization.

The collected at least one computer mediated or media generatedcommunication may be email, chat from a chat room, website informationcollected from a website, or transcribed media coverage. The outputcommunication may assess a psychological state, attitude orcharacteristic and the associated problems or risks posed by the author,based upon the at least one computer mediated communication produced orreceived by the author. The author may be affiliated with anorganization and the output communication may pertain to a course ofaction to be taken by the organization which collected the at least onecomputer mediated communication authored or received by the author.

The output communication may be about the author, and the outputcommunication may be generated in response to processing of thereference for the at least one psychological profiling algorithm and thequantification produced by the psychological profiling algorithm, may begenerated in response to processing of the reference for the at leastone key word algorithm and the quantification produced by the at leastone key word algorithm, or may be generated in response to a comparisonof the reference for the at least one communication characteristicalgorithm and the quantification produced by the at least onecommunication characteristic algorithm. The output communication mayrelate to at least one of a psychological state, attitude orcharacteristic of the author represented in the at least one computer ormedia generated communication and an investigation of the psychologicalstatus of the author represented by the at least one computer mediatedcommunication.

The at least one psychological profiling algorithm may quantify at leastone of words written in bold face words written in italics, profanity oremail symbols in an alert phrase. The at least one psychologicalprofiling algorithm may quantify the words, types of words, phrases, orsubjects I, we, me, negatives, quantifiers, retractors, directreferences, explainers, negative and positive expressions of feeling,negative and positive evaluators, adverbial intensifiers, rhetoricalquestions, interruptions, interrogatives, imperatives, and psychologicaldistance. The at least one psychological profiling algorithm produces anassessment of a psychological state, attitudes, and characteristics ofthe author. The psychological state of the author may be at least one ofanger, anxiety, depression, emotional withdrawal, lack of flexibility,impulsiveness, and emotional stability. The psychological attitudes ofthe author may be represented by at least one of negative or positiveevaluators and feelings, negatives, psychological distance, andfrequency of communication. The psychological characteristics of theauthor may be represented by at least one of aloof versus expressive,loner versus team player, plans versus reacts, rigid versus flexible,task versus morale oriented, cognitive complexity, sensitivity tocriticism, controlling, dependent, and organized.

The at least one key word algorithm may provide an interpretation of thepsychological state and/or risk of at least one of or a combination ofthe words, phrases and subjects represented by the at least one computermediated communication. The at least one key word algorithm may quantifyphrases and/or threatening acts to identify a psychological state. Thephrases and/or threatening acts may involve at least one of anger,victimization, grief, threats, or accusations. The at least one key wordalgorithm may provide information regarding at least one of authorattitude, actions toward individuals, at least one organization and atleast one organizational interest. The message characteristicsalgorithms of the at least one computer mediated communication mayinclude at least one of the following items of information about the atleast one computer mediated communication: number of words, time of day,writing time, number of words per minute, recipient, spelling errors,grammatical errors, words per sentence, and communication rate in termsof the number of computer-mediated communications per hour or day. Inthe self-monitoring version, the author may use the output communicationto alter the at least one computer mediated communication. The alteringof the at least one computer mediated communication may modify apsychological state, attitude or characteristic reflected in the atleast one computer mediated communication in a manner desired by theauthor.

A communications manager embodiment uses the psychological profilingalgorithms discussed above and below to produce graphics or tabularratings of the content of a computer mediated communication, scoring foremotional tone, frequency of communication and psychologicalcharacteristics of the author(s). This embodiment collectscommunications from authors of incoming messages and uses thepsychological profiling algorithms to calculate the emotional tone ofthe communications on a scale ranging from negative, to neutral topositive. This embodiment also collects and analyzes informationregarding the incoming communication relating to the frequency, andlength of communication. These two characteristics of the communicationare then arrayed in a graphic or tabular format for the user in order todistinguish the amount or frequency of communication and the emotionaltone of communication from a specific author. This information may becalculated for individual communications from an author or for multiplecommunications from the same author. These results may be displayed inuser-specified formats, such as changes in the frequency and emotionaltone of multiple communications from an author over time, or in summaryformat, displaying the number of communications and the averageemotional tone across communications. The user may also select todisplay these values for any number of incoming authors in order tocompare his or her communication across multiple incoming authors. Thischaracteristic will allow the user to highlight the importance (in termsof frequency) and quality (in terms of emotional tone) of his or hercommunications across multiple incoming authors in order to analyze andimprove selected relationships.

This embodiment also allows the user to analyze the characteristics ofthe incoming authors' communications to determine the specific frequencyof specific word categories that are contributing to the emotional toneof the incoming authors' communication.

This embodiment also allows the user to assess specific psychologicalcharacteristics of the incoming author in order to improve his or hercommunication with the incoming author. These psychologicalcharacteristics include, but are not limited to aloof versus expressive,loner versus team player, plans versus reacts, rigid versus flexible,task versus morale oriented, cognitive complexity, sensitivity tocriticism, controlling, dependent, and organized.

A system which provides computer analysis of computer-mediatedcommunications in accordance with the invention includes a computersystem having at least one processor, a database coupled to the at leastone processor, and an input which collects at least one computermediated communication produced by or received by an author, and havinga parser, executed by the at least one processor, which parses thecollected communication to identify categories of information therein.The processor performs at least one analysis of one of the categories ofinformation to quantify at least one type of information in eachanalyzed category which is stored in the database and generates anoutput communication when a difference between the quantification of atleast one type of information for at least one category and a referencefor the at least one category is detected involving a psychologicalstate of the author of the collected communication to which a responsiveaction should be taken, with content of the output communication and theat least one category being programmable to define a psychological statein response to which an action should be taken and the action thatshould be taken in response to the defined psychological state. The atleast one analysis may be at least one algorithm. The at least oneanalysis may comprise at least one of a psychological profilingalgorithm which provides an indication of a psychological state of theauthor, at least one key word algorithm which processes any phrasesand/or threatening acts to further identify a psychological state of theauthor and how the author may react to the identified psychologicalstate, and at least one communication or message characteristicalgorithm which analyzes the computer mediated communication related tothe psychological state and/or at least one possible action of theauthor. A plurality of analyses may be performed, each of which is analgorithm, and the plurality of analyses may comprise a psychologicalprofiling algorithm which provides an indication of a psychologicalstate of the author, at least one key word algorithm which processes anyphrases and/or threatening acts to further identify a psychologicalstate of the author and how the author may react to the identifiedpsychological state, and at least one communication characteristicalgorithm which analyzes characteristics of the at least one computermediated communication to identify a psychological state and/or at leastone possible action of the author. The output communication may begenerated by the processor by a report generator program which generatesa report pertaining to the author. The input may be coupled to acommunication system of an organization to which the author isaffiliated and which collects the at least one computer mediatedcommunication produced or received by the author, and the outputcommunication may be directed to the organization indicating that atleast one of an investigation and corrective action should be consideredrelative to the author. In the self-monitoring version, the author mayuse the output communication to alter the computer mediatedcommunication. The altering of the computer mediated communication maymodify a psychological state reflected in the communication in a mannerdesired by the author.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention are moreapparent from the following detailed description and claims,particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which like parts bear like reference numerals. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates the criteria utilized by Walter Weintraub to identifyand count the occurrence of words and word characteristics to determinepsychological states;

FIGS. 2-7 illustrate slides presented by the present inventor atconferences representing his analysis of electronic mail messages, afterthe occurrence of a crime, authored by the criminal before and duringthe time of the criminal activity;

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a first embodiment of a computersystem in accordance with the present invention utilized to analyzecomputer-mediated communications to produce output communications, suchas warnings to organizations or groups to which an author of thecomputer-mediated communications is affiliated;

FIG. 9 illustrates a second embodiment of a computer system inaccordance with the present invention used to analyze computer-mediatedcommunications by the author thereof or another to provide recommendedchanges to the computer-mediated communications so as to alter thepsychological state reflected therein before transmission thereof;

FIG. 10 illustrates a workflow associated with the first and secondembodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9; and

FIGS. 11-18 illustrate outputs from a communications manager embodimentof the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 8 illustrates a first embodiment 10 of a computer system inaccordance with the present invention which is implemented in one ormore processors 12 to detect, monitor and warn of the occurrence ofpsychological states, such as at risk psychological states, incomputer-mediated communications of authors who transmit or receivecomputer-mediated communications, such as, but not limited to, email,chat, website content, etc. Computer-mediated communications have beenrecognized in the literature as having characteristics that aredifferent than those of other forms of communication such as speech orpublications. The first embodiment 10 is applicable to a wide range ofapplications involving group associations, such as companies, for whoman author of computer-mediated communications works or providesservices. The at least one processor 12 is typically located on the siteof the organization with whom the author, who transmits or receives thecomputer-mediated communications, is affiliated, but the invention isnot limited thereto. The at least one processor 12 may be a server,personal computer or otherwise. The at least one processor 12 furthermay be a stand alone system or part of any existing system of a companywhich already monitors electronic mail and/or other computer-mediatedcommunications. By combining the present invention with an existingsystem which monitors computer-mediated communications, parts of theexisting system, such as a part which generates output communicationsand reports, may perform multiple tasks, which lessens the cost whencompared to a stand alone system.

A source of computer-mediated communications 14, which may be from anyconnection to the internet or diverse types of communication networks,or otherwise, is a source of or destination of electronic mail, chat,web content, etc., which is analyzed by the present invention. Theinvention applies the same analysis to computer-mediated communicationswhich are transmitted or which are received by the author in associationwith the author's organization.

A group of software modules 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 are executedby the at least one processor 12 as either part of a stand alone systemor as part of an existing computer system containing at least oneprocessor. These software modules implement the processes of the presentinvention and are fully programmable to define the criteria forconducting the analysis of the computer-mediated communications and thecircumstances surrounding the generation of output communications andthe content thereof.

The group of software modules includes a parser module 16 whichidentifies and tabulates words and word phrases present in the at leastone computer mediated communication to or from source 14 to identifycategories of information therein. The parser module 16 analyzes thecontent of each of the computer-mediated communications to or fromsource 14 for keywords and phrases and message characteristics which areidentified, counted and recorded. The results of this analysis areforwarded to database and statistical module 18 where the aforementionedidentified, counted and recorded words, phrases and messagecharacteristics are stored in the form of a spreadsheet or otherwisethat is assigned to each author being studied regardless of whether ornot the author is a receiver or an originator of the computer mediatedcommunication. The database and statistical module 18 assigns theinformation to specific database categories of information inpreparation for analysis by the three analytical modules 20, 22 and 24.The module 20 includes at least one psychological profiling algorithmwhich provides an indication of a psychological state of the author. Themodule 22 includes at least one personal and organization keywordalgorithm which processes any phrases and/or threatening acts to furtheridentify the psychological state of the author and how the author mayreact to the identified psychological state. The module 24 includes atleast one message characteristic algorithm which analyzescharacteristics of at least one computer mediated communication(attributes of the communication, and not the meaning of theinformational content thereof) to further identify a psychological stateand/or at least one possible action of the author.

The modules 20, 22 and 24 apply their algorithms to the data stored inthe database and statistical module 18 to quantify at least one type ofinformation in each category of information identified by parsing the atleast one computer mediated communication. The modules 20, 22 and 24further apply their algorithms to the data contained in the database andstatistical module 18 to statistically compare the results of thecurrent computer mediated communication to a fully programmable criteriafor each of the categories of information produced by each of themodules. The fully programmable criteria may be an average, mean, othercalculation or other value representing past computer-mediatedcommunications which are a reference that is compared with valuesobtained by use of the fully programmable criteria applied to a currentcomputer mediated communication. Alternatively, absolute values, whichare fully programmable, are used as the reference that is compared tovalues obtained by use of the fully programmable criteria applied to thecurrent computer mediated communication. The absolute screening criteriaare intended to indicate when a sufficient deviation exists from anormal psychological state that a warning or other output communicationshould be generated immediately based upon only the content of thecurrent computer mediated communication.

When the difference between the fully programmable reference criteriaand the current computer mediated communication indicates apsychological state of the author or a change therein to which aresponsive action should be taken, reporting and warning generator 26and output generator 28 generate the programmed output communication.The database and statistical module 18 works in association with reportand a warning generator 26 and an output generator 28. The report andwarning generator 26 and output generator 28 generate an outputcommunication when the quantification of at least one type ofinformation for at least one category differs from the programmedreference for the at least one category by at least a set, programmableor calculated criteria (mean, average or other calculation) indicating apsychological state in response to which a responsive action should betaken. The content of the output communication and the at least onecategory are programmable to provide operator control over the detectionof the actual psychological state or change therein in response to whichan action should be taken. The results of the analysis performed by thedatabase and statistical module 18 are sent to the reporting and warningmodule 26 and then to the output generator 28 when an outputcommunication, in accordance with the programming selected by anoperator is required, such as, but not limited to, a warning to beprovided to the user or agent thereof.

The module 20 containing at least one psychological profiling algorithmmeasures the psychological and typically the emotional state of theauthor especially with regard to anger, fear, depression and anxiety.The results produced by the at least one psychological profilingalgorithm are sent to the reporting and warning generator 26 and outputgenerator 28 via the database and statistical module 18.

The module 22 containing at least one personal and organizationalkeyword algorithm compares the number and type of alert phrasesassociated with specific acts contained in the current computer mediatedcommunication to a reference, which may be either an absolute thresholdlimit to be applied to analysis of that communication or an average,mean, calculated or other value produced from previous computer-mediatedcommunications. The results of the at least one personal andorganizational keyword algorithm are sent via the database andstatistical module 18 to the reporting and warning generator 26 and tothe output generator 28 when an output is necessary.

The at least one message characteristic algorithm 24 compares the typeand number of message characteristic variables in at least one computermediated communication (not the meaning of the content of the messagethereof) to a reference, which may be either an absolute limitprogrammed for the current communication or an average, mean, calculatedor other value produced from previous communications, to determine whenan output communication should be generated. The results of the at leastone message characteristic algorithm 24 are sent to the report andwarning generator 26 and to the output generator 28 via the database andstatistical module 18.

The report and warning generator 26 and the output generator 28 functionto generate an output communication when a difference between thequantification of at least one type of information for at least onecategory produced by modules 20, 22 and 24 and a reference is detectedinvolving a psychological state of the author to which a responsiveaction should be taken. The content of the output communication and theat least one category are programmable to define a psychological statein response to which an action should be taken and the action that is tobe taken in response to the defined psychological state.

The reporting and warning module 26 performs two analytical functions inaddition to its reporting tasks. First, the reporting and warning module26 examines a pattern of results provided by the at least one algorithmof the modules 20, 22 and 24 to determine what type and level of risk,if any, is present, as represented by a current computer mediatedcommunication. Second, the reporting and warning module 26 compares theresults to either the dynamic and/or static programmable criteriainvolving a psychological state of the communication's author under thecontrol of a user, such as a company or other organization, to determinewhether the level of risk detected in a current computer mediatedcommunication meets warning reporting criteria for which it is desirableto produce a programmed output communication by output generator 28. Thewarning reporting criteria may include where, how and to whom the outputcommunication is to be provided. If the criteria involving apsychological state of the author for reporting a warning are met, theoutput indicator 28 produces the aforementioned output, including theresults of the analysis and recommended actions to be taken according toa programmable format selected by the user. The recommended actions mayand often will include a recommendation for further, more specificanalysis of the results produced by the modules 20, 22 and 24, leadingto the generation of a warning by a qualified professional, such as anon-call specialist. The on-call specialist may be provided access to thedatabase and statistical module 18 to conduct further analysis of thedata generating the warning and to make further recommendations.

In examining a pattern of results provided by the modules 20, 22 and 24,the reporting and warning generator 26 executes several threatassessment algorithms. For example, a determination may be made ofwhether the reported changes occurred in only one of the three analyticmodules. For example, in such a case there may be a significant changein the emotional state of an author detected by module 20 (e.g.increased anger) without requiring any report of alert phrases or keyphrases associated with a threat of destructive action. In addition, theoverall pattern of recipients and other characteristics of the author'smessages (frequency, length, time of day sent, errors, etc.) analyzed bymodule 24 may have remained stable. The user may choose to have data onthe results for each module 20, 22 and 24 reported separately and/or maychoose to have the results of all three modules synthesized into athreat warning indicator which weighs the importance of any indicationof the at least one type of information in any, some, or all of thethree categories of information in at least one computer mediatedcommunication. In the above example, the results of the change inemotional state could be reported alone and/or in an overall warningindex. The level of warning reported by this index may be lower thanwarnings resulting from increases in alert phrases detected by module 22or significant alterations in the author's pattern of messagecharacteristics detected by module 24.

An example of a higher level of warning indication is that significantchanges in two or three of the analytical modules 20, 22 and 24 aredetected. For example, a significant increase in author anger and fear(according to changes in threshold levels which are the references usedduring determination of whether a sufficient difference exists towarrant the generation of an output) in the module 20 may be accompaniedby specific references to attacks detected by module 22 on personnel orassets by veiled threats (“big surprise”, “rude awakening”, etc.), or bya desire for revenge which exceed the reference for the at least onecriteria. In addition, this result may be accompanied by an increase inthe frequency and length of the messages to a specific individual (e.g.,the author's supervisor) detected in the module 24 which exceed thereference.

The warning and reporting generator 26, according to user programmedpreferences, reports significant changes in each module and/or reportsthe existence of a significantly higher threat index synthesizing theseresults. In addition, in the case when changes are detected by multiplemodules, the reporting and warning generator 26 automatically extractsand reports salient threat data from each category of information. Inthe example above, this includes information on the type ofpsychological changes recorded, specific threatening key words or alertphrases recorded, and the increase in the frequency and length ofmessages to the author's supervisor or other recipients containing thesechanges.

The module 20 which provides psychological profiling is derived in partfrom the work of Weintraub as published in 1981, 1986 and 1989 andgenerally as described above. The quantification procedures for thealgorithms are in accordance with Weintraub's criteria but are appliedto applications not discussed by Weintraub. While Weintraub's algorithmsare utilized, they are applied in a new manner to a new medium(computer-mediated communications) with new subjects in the method andcomputer system of the invention. The use of Weintraub algorithms in acomputer implementation generating real time analysis and outputcommunication differs from their use in the prior art with regard to thesubjects examined (Weintraub never applied his algorithms to employeesor other normal subjects), the medium of communication examined(Weintraub applied his algorithms to speeches and interviews),computer-mediated communications including dynamic profiles (Weintraubconstructed only static profiles of political leaders), and generating awarning (Weintraub never used his algorithms to produce a warning aboutthe existence of a dangerous psychological state associated with anincreased risk of an employee damaging himself, others, or the interestsof the employer). Furthermore, the Weintraub algorithms have not beenused in combination with key word and message characteristic algorithmsin a computer implemented system generating real time analysis andoutput communication.

Additionally, the algorithms in module 20 include two new categories ofkey word phrases which are emphatics and email symbols that arequantified, in addition to the categories of Weintraub's algorithm thatare quantified. Emphatics include words written in bold face or italicsand profanity. Specialized email symbols include signs used to expressspecific emotions, such as smiling or frowning faces. These twocategories represent conditions common to email which have not beenconsidered by Weintraub because of his work being with differentsubjects in a different modality. In addition, as noted above, theauthor of the present invention has added several new categories to theWeintraub measures (e.g. positive and negative feelings and evaluators)as well as additional analytical categories contained in the othermodules (Key words and message characteristics).

The module 22 executes at least one personal and organizational keywordalgorithm which analyzes key words and phrases. Expressed in connectionto an individual or organizational characteristic, policy, or practice,key words provide greater evidence that a potentially dangerousemotional state detected in the at least one psychological profilingalgorithm may be connected to an individual or an organization. Thesekey words or alert phrases include the categories of expressions ofanger, expressions of grief, threats, and accusations. The module 22quantifies words in these categories to generate a total score of all ofthe words determined to be within this category. This is compared to areference, which may be programmed or determined from an average, mean,other calculation or otherwise from previous computer-mediatedcommunications to determine if an output communication should begenerated.

Examples of key words and alert phrases, without limitation, includeanger, e.g. hate, despise or resent, garbage, screwed, unfair, protest,resist, pissed, rage, hostility, etc.; grief, e.g. loss, sad, can'thelp, remove, take away, forever, never the same, death, separation,move, gone, destroyed, ruined, etc.; threats, e.g. big surprise, shock,what's coming, quit, hack, fire, you'll regret, take down, get even,sue, lawsuit, publish, punish, kill, hurt, steal, etc.; and accusations,e.g. accuse, punish, set-up, arranged, conspired, planned attack, forceout, demote, transfer, undermine, etc. These key words or alert phraseshave been found in prior attacks by insiders. They connect an author'snegative emotional state to a specific possible action toward anindividual and/or organization, increasing the predictive capability ofthe present invention when connected with the other algorithms.

While key word analysis has previously been used, such as ordered by theSecurities and Exchange Commission regarding broker email, key wordanalysis has not been used with respect to key words specific toemployee attitudes and actions toward individuals or organization's ortheir interests, key words specifically derived from and tailored toinsider violations involving fellow employees and organizationalinterests, key words collected over time from a single individual ratherthan a one-shot, static detection strategy that results in a warningfrom a single key word occurrence, or key words in combination withpsychological profiling data and message characteristic indicators in acomputer implemented system in order to develop a more specificsensitive, valid and reliable indicator of risk or other situationsreflected in computer-mediated communications to which a responsiveaction is desirable.

The at least one message characteristic algorithm in the module 24analyzes attributes of the communication itself, rather than the meaningof the content that provides psychological information. Thesecharacteristics or attributes include the number of words (depressedindividuals tend to be less productive while non-depressed individualshave been shown by research to be more productive), time of day(alterations in the time of day an author chooses to communicate canhave significance in that depressed or upset individuals tend to developinsomnia and experience variation in their moods according to time ofday), writing time or words per minute (concentration and motor speedare extremely sensitive to changes in psychological and cognitive state,as well as the presence of psycho-active agents) (Shaw 1986-1987), withchanges in words per minute therefore being a key indicator fordepression, anxiety and anger, drug use or other potentially riskychanges in an individual, recipient (it is important to determinewhether the person to whom the subject is directing the computermediated communication has changed, whether the number of recipients hasbeen altered, or whether the psychological content of the message variesaccording to the recipient, with this information being vital tolocating a source of interpersonal conflicts), spelling and grammaticalerrors (changes thereof are an excellent indicator of concentration,attention and cognitive integrity, all of which may be affected bystress, illness, drugs or extreme emotional states), words per sentence(abbreviation or expansion in the efficiency of communications is anindicator of psychological state, especially anger, anxiety anddepression), and communications rate (communications per hour and day asan indicator of productivity, which can be affected by psychologicalstate). These attributes had been previously measured but have not beenapplied to a computer implemented system in combination withpsychological profiling and key word analysis to produce a warning andprovide information regarding characteristics in an employee population.The module 24 quantifies variables in these categories to generate atotal score of all of the data determined to be within this categorywhich is compared to a reference, which may be a programmed absolutevalue or may be determined from an average, mean, or other calculationor otherwise from previous computer-mediated communications, todetermine if an output communication should be generated.

FIG. 9 illustrates a second embodiment 100 of a computer system inaccordance with the present invention which is also implemented in oneor more processors 12. The second embodiment 100 differs infunctionality from the first embodiment 10 in that it is primarily, butnot necessarily, used for self-monitoring by or of the author ofcomputer-mediated communications in order to allow the author or user toassess a psychological state reflected in the author's proposed computergenerated communications. The output communication is generated when adifference between the quantification of at least one type ofinformation for the at least one category produced by the psychologicalprofiling algorithm of module 20 and the programmable reference, or areference obtained from an average, mean, other calculation or otherwisefrom previous communications, is detected involving a psychologicalstate of the author to which a responsive action should be taken. Thecontent of the output communication and the at least one category areprogrammable to define a psychological state in response to which anaction should be taken and the action that is to be taken in response toa defined psychological state.

The embodiment 100 produces graphic or tabular ratings of the contentsof a work product scored for emotional tone. Emotional scales forembodiment 100 include ratings of the levels of such emotions as angeror hostility, decisiveness, passivity, self-confidence, complexity,sadness or happiness, etc. After completion of a computer mediatedcommunication, the author has the option of engaging the embodiment,much in the same way a spell or grammar checker is used, to obtain anevaluation of the communication and possible corrective action to alterthe emotional tone. The default position of the system includes standardscales, but the user also has the option to select or eliminatespecialized scales by programming that may be of relevance to the targetaudience or of personal concern.

After the ratings of the work product are complete, the embodiment 100produces recommendations for corrections designed to increase or reducelevels of various emotions. For example, a computer mediatedcommunication high on hostility may produce a recommendation to reducethe number of negatives while highlighting their location within thetext. A computer mediated communication high on indecisiveness mayrecommend the reduction of the number of qualifiers and retractors, alsohighlighting their location in the text. The author then has the optionto re-run the rating system to check for improvement in the desiredfully programmable emotional scales.

A typical psychological state to which responsive action should be takenis when the content of a proposed computer mediated communication wouldhave a negative effect on a recipient(s). A typical suggested action issuggestions in the output communication of how to lessen the undesiredimpact of the proposed computer-mediated communication of the author(e.g. email). The content of the proposed computer mediatedcommunication is typically altered to improve the desired impact of thecommunication. For example, the proposed output communication isdesigned to insure that the proposed computer mediated communicationdoes not display excessive anger, indecisiveness, rigidity or othercharacteristics designated by the user as undesirable in the programmingof the criteria for determining when a responsive action should betaken. The user may also utilize the embodiment 100 to assess or modifythe psychological characteristics presented in a desired direction, suchas to increase or decrease a negative psychological state reflected in aproposed communication. The embodiment 100 parses and assesses thesecharacteristics and actively assists the user to alter them, throughspecific recommendations which are fully programmable, to provideversatility in use of the embodiment with different personalities andscreening different types of communications.

The same psychological profiling algorithm 20 is used which is used inthe embodiment 10 described above in association with FIG. 8. In theembodiment 100, at least one computer mediated communication is parsedand analyzed to produce a determination of the author's psychologicalstate. Additionally, hypotheses regarding the author's psychologicalcharacteristics reflected in the computer mediated communication aredetermined. As the embodiment 100 gathers more data through the analysisof computer-mediated communications of a user or outside author, suchcommunications may be stored and utilized to improve the validity ofassessment of the author through use of additional data. This allows theembodiment 100 to analyze changes in psychological characteristics ofthe person involved, which is typically the author of the computermediated communication, but is not limited thereto. The operation of theparser 16, database and statistical module 18 and the module 20containing at least one psychological profiling algorithm is similar tothat in embodiment 10, except for its application being designed toprovide self-monitoring or monitoring of an individual without theprimary beneficiary of the suggested action being an organization towhich the author is affiliated.

The module 20 in the embodiment 100 utilizes the analytical algorithmsto evaluate the psychological state and characteristics of the authorrequested by the user. This may involve analysis of a singlecommunication to see if the quantification of the words of the computermediated communication exceeds a programmable reference set by the useror someone else, or if a comparison of the quantification of thecriteria being investigated in the current communication differs from areference determined from one or more previous communications of thesame author or different authors which are used as a basis to determineif an output communication should be generated. In addition, thepsychological measures derived from the current communication may becompared to the statistical values derived from an analysis of a subsetof previously authored communications or even all previously authoredcommunications. This capability allows the user to assess changes in anauthor's psychological state or characteristics over time. In theself-monitoring mode of the embodiment 100, the user evaluates theeffects of alterations in the content of his or her own communications.

The results of analysis performed by the module 20 are transferredthrough the database and statistical module 18 to the report generatorand editor 30, where results are delivered to the user in a formatselected and programmed by the user. In the self-monitoring mode, theuser may select indices of preselected psychological characteristicssuch as hostility, assertiveness, flexibility, passivity, complexity,etc. The user may then query the system for the actual basis of thesejudgments and may obtain suggestions for altering these values. Forexample, if the embodiment 100 generates a hostility score of 8 on ascale of 0-10, the user is told the basis for the score, e.g. arelatively high level of negative phrases, such as not, no, never, etc.The user is then offered suggestions for lowering this score (e.g. byreducing the number of negative phrases which the system locates andidentifies). After altering the suggested content, the user then mayrepeat the analysis of the computer mediated communication to determinethe effect of editing on the emotional or psychological state reflectedtherein so as to permit variation in the impact of the computer mediatedcommunication as measured by the quantification produced by thepsychological profiling algorithms in the module 20.

The embodiment 100 also uses the emphatics and email symbols in module20 described above with respect to the embodiment 10 of FIG. 8.

A range of single and composite score interpretations based upon theabove-described score interpretations of Weintraub, may be utilized in adetermination of the psychological state of the author with theembodiment 10 for applications such as employee monitoring for follow-upor more in-depth assessments by qualified personnel, and with theembodiment 100 to provide more specialized forms of analysis, includingself-analysis.

Another algorithm which is used by the embodiments 10 and 100 togenerate the output communications is Psychological Distance, asdescribed above. This measure is derived from the work of Mehrabian andWeiner (1966).

FIG. 10 illustrates a workflow of the processing performed by the atleast one processor 12 of the embodiments 10 and 100 of FIGS. 8 and 9.However, it should be understood that the invention is not limitedthereto. Workflow begins at 200 with a new document to be analyzed,which is a computer mediated communication. The new document, providedin digital format, is forwarded at 202 to a document managementsubsystem. Groups of documents are organized at 204 in a database, asindicated, so that the organization is, without limitation, by author,date, location, recipient and time. The analysis of an individualdocument begins at 206 where a document stored in the database 204 isselected. The selected document is forwarded at 208 to a rule editorsubsystem where the user is provided selectivity of the rule set used toprogram the operation of the parser 16. The rule editor subsystem 208passes the selected document to language parser 16, which may be inaccordance with any well-known text analyzer, to perform thequantification as described above with respect to the modules 20, 22 and24.

The language parser 16 deconstructs the document to identify categoriesof information therein, as described above for each of the categories ofinformation analyzed by the modules 20, 22 and 24. The language parser16 passes the deconstructed document to an analysis engine 212 to applythe selected rule set and to perform the programmed scoring calculations(quantifications) involving each of the identified categories ofinformation, to quantify at least one type of information in eachcategory. The results of processing of the analysis engine 212 arepassed to the scoring database 214 where the individual scores are savedand summarized, such as producing the mean, average, etc. of all pastcomputer-mediated communications used as the reference for each categoryso as to facilitate comparison to a current computer mediatedcommunication. The results of the scoring database 214 are passed to thereporting and warning generator 26 and output generator 28, or to reportgenerator and editor 30, which generates reports and communicationsregarding a responsive action which should be taken. Optionally, aprofessional, such as an analyst, is provided at 218 with the outputfrom the reporting and warning system 26 and output generator 28 or thereport generator and editor 30 to permit comments and notes of theanalyst to be stored so as to provide responsive action to the resultsof the reports.

FIGS. 11-18 illustrate outputs from a communications manager embodiment.FIG. 11 displays the summary output for email received by “Dave” fromthree work colleagues“Rad”, “Michelle” and “Bob”. The data is displayedin terms of the number of emails per week and the emotional tone of theemails. In the above example, “Dave” received 16 emails from “Rad” witha mean emotional tone score of negative 6. “Dave” received 14 and 42emails from “Michelle” and “Bob”, respectively, with emotional tonescores of positive 4 and 18, respectively. This summary data immediatelytells “Bob” that he has a positive relationship with “Michelle”, a verypositive relationship with “Dave”, but that his relationship with “Rad”is much more negative.

FIG. 12 displays a summary of “Dave's” weekly email communication to“Rad,” “Michelle,” and “Bob”. “Dave” may now determine the extent towhich his communications may contribute to the status of the frequencyand emotional tone of his relationship with these three. The systemindicates to Dave that his communications with “Rad” are even lessfrequent and almost as negative as “Rad's” to him. The output alsoindicates that his communications to Bob and Michelle are fewer thantheirs to him and significantly less positive.

FIG. 13 summarizes the data in greater detail by utilizing the system'sability to break down the number of email by the counts of words scorednegative and positive. This summary output tells “Dave” that his outputis generally much lower than his colleagues, although it is somewhatsimilar to “Rad's”. If “Dave” wishes to modify his relationships withthese three individuals the system will advise him to increase hisoutput and increase the positive versus negative valence of this output.The system will review his outgoing emails in its self-monitoringembodiment and score these emails on these variables and highlight for“Dave's” review, per his instructions, the negative words contained inhis communication. A week later, Dave can re-examine the frequency andvalence of his email communications with these three individuals todetermine the extent of change, if any, that has been made.

FIG. 14 provides further examples of system output designed to help theuser manage his relationships through computerized communications. Theupper and lower dashboards in FIG. 14 permit “Dave” to compare himselfto his three colleagues in terms of the psychological characteristics ofAloof versus Expressive and Loner versus Team Player, respectively. Asthe upper dashboard indicates, “Dave” and “Rad” are more similar inaloofness than “Michelle” and “Bob”. The system will therefore advise“Dave” to modify his communications with “Michelle” and “Bob” to becomevery significantly more expressive, while his communications with “Rad”need to be only moderately more expressive. The lower dashboardindicates that unlike the other three, Dave is more of a loner and lessof a team player. He must therefore modify his communications (andbehavior). The system will therefore review his outgoing communicationswith these individuals and, per his instructions, advise him to delete“loner” language (such as heavy use of “I” and “me”) and increase hisuse of team language (such as “we,” “us” and “our”).

FIGS. 15 and 16 supply further examples of comparisons of “Dave” and hiscolleagues on other system psychological characteristic dashboards.“Dave” can use this information to help modify his relationship withthese individuals. For example, the three dashboards of FIGS. 15 and 16tell “Dave” that and in his relationship with “Rad” he may wish toemphasize the need to react to events rather than to take theinitiative, present his ideas with firmness and clarity representingstrong, fixed beliefs, and emphasize the rational costs and benefits ofproposed actions rather than the interpersonal or human factorsoutcomes.

A sample system output expressing these findings about “Rad” to “Dave”may include:

-   -   Plan versus React: this individual prefers to react to events,        rather than take the initiative. Your dealings with this person        may be more successful if you do not wait for him to come to        you, rather you ask him to respond to requests, proposals or        actions initiated by you or others. He may be more comfortable        providing advice or feedback on actions, plans or proposals of        others than initiating such activities. According to the content        assessed thus far, you are similar to this person in terms of        these characteristics. Therefore, in your relationship with him,        you may have to make an extra effort to initiate contact and        maintain communications.    -   Rigid versus Flexible: this individual is relatively fixed in        his beliefs, ideas and attitudes. Your dealings with this        individual may be more successful if you take this into account        by not directly challenging his ideas and attitudes, but rather        take them into account in your communications with him. Use your        knowledge of his strong beliefs and feelings as a starting point        for your communications and proceed from there. The content        assessed thus far indicates that you are very similar to him in        this respect. In your communications with him, you may therefore        wish to set your own beliefs and feelings that are different        from his aside, at least initially, and emphasize those areas of        agreement.    -   Rational versus Interpersonal: this individual tends to        emphasize the logical costs and benefits of plans or actions in        his decision-making rather than the emotional or personal        effects on individuals. He is more concerned with accomplishing        tasks and performance than morale or the psychological needs of        others. In your communications with him, you may wish to        emphasize the logical and empirical costs and benefits of a        decision over the personal or morale factors. According to the        content assessed thus far, you are similar to him in this regard        and may wish to take that into account in your communications        with him. Your natural decision-making format may therefore work        well in your communications with him.

While these system dashboards compare communication authors to eachother, the system also can compare the scores on psychological states,attitudes and characteristics to other criterion groups. This will beparticularly important when the communications of an author are beingevaluated for potential risk of dangerousness. For example, FIG. 17compares “Dave's” email communications, labeled as “Lone Exec” on Angerto that of several comparison groups. These groups include:

-   -   The mean anger levels of a patient suffering from Post-Traumatic        Stress Disorder (PTSD Patient);    -   The mean levels of anger of a disgruntled computer programmer's        communication with his supervisor. He was convicted of        sabotaging a company's servers (Khanna);    -   the mean anger levels of the communications of ten depressed        individuals on a self-help on-line chat bulletin board on        depression (Depressed Patients);    -   the mean anger levels for communications of 12 anxious        individuals on an on-line self-help bulletin board for persons        suffering from anxiety (Anxious Patients);    -   The mean levels of anger in the communications of Robert        Hanssen, a former FBI employee convicted of espionage, with his        Soviet handlers (Hanssen);    -   The mean levels of anger in a disgruntled employee rejected by        his former lover at work just before he attacked her property        (Redshield);    -   The level of anger in a note to police from the sniper that        attacked and killed individuals in the Washington, D.C.        metropolitan area in 2002 (Sniper); and    -   The level of anger in a note from Italy's Red Brigade terrorist        group threatening a foreign journalist with death if he did not        leave Italy, written in 2002 (Red Brigade).

This system feature allows the user to compare the levels of emotions orpsychological states or traits in authors with the same author, theuser's communications, other authors for whom the user has email orcriterion groups such as those above. In the embodiment used to identifyand/or monitor individuals at-risk for dangerous behavior the ability tocompare their scores with other individuals with proven risk and dangeroffers the user an advantage.

In summary, the Communications Manager embodiment allows a user toanalyze and track the state of a relationship in terms of its importanceor frequency of contact and emotional tone, identify and analyzeproblems in the relationship, understand the psychologicalcharacteristics of authors and their potential impact on therelationship, monitor, analyze and alter the user's communicationscontent, generate tactics for changing and improving the communicationswith an author to improve the relationship, and measure the success ofthese efforts over time, while also monitoring an author for potentiallyrisky psychological states and/or characteristics.

A media image assessment embodiment utilizes transcripts of audio mediacoverage or copies of printed or digital media coverage of a person,place, organization or idea. As in the Communications Managerembodiment, the system analyzes the content of the media communicationsand displays the output in terms of the frequency of the references andtheir emotional tone. FIG. 18 displays such information for sevenstories on America On Line (AOL) from The Washington Post during atwelve day period in November 2002. The data in the graph portray thenumber of cites or references to AOL in each article (visibility) andthe overall emotional tone of the citations as measured by the sum ofthe number of positive feelings, positive evaluators, negatives,negative feelings, and negative evaluators.

As FIG. 18 indicates, coverage of AOL varied by media authorsignificantly during this period. For example on Nov. 13, 2002 therewere two articles in the Post which were very different in theirvisibility and valence or tone. One article in the upper, right-handside of the graph was high in visibility and positive in tone (21, +18).The other article appearing on the 13^(th) was lower in visibility andmuch more negative in tone (6, −12). Users interested in this mediacoverage of AOL could use this system to track authors and themes bytheir coverage of AOL and utilize this information to construct mediastrategies and tactics to improve this coverage. The success of theseefforts could be tracked over time using the system. For example, thisembodiment could be used by a public relations firm or a communicationsoffice to track the visibility and tone of the articles by authors whowere favorable toward AOL and authors negative toward AOL. It could alsobe used by campaign officials seeking to help political candidates orcauses, This information could be used to structure communications withthese authors in order to address the themes of their coverage. Forexample, in order to improve coverage by authors with a negativedisposition toward AOL, such authors could be given informationaddressing their negative themes or given access to AOL personnel withexpertise or interest in their concerns. Authors who are favorablydisposed toward AOL could be identified and supported in their positivethemes with information and access. A user could even use theCommunications Manager embodiment of the system to further enhancemanagement of these relationships. The success or failure of theseefforts could then be monitored by assessment of forthcoming mediacoverage by these authors.

The personnel screening and selection embodiment of the inventionapplies the system's ability to assess an authors psychological state,attitudes and characteristics by the content of applicant essays orinterviews for admission to an organization, group or relationship. Inthis embodiment, the individuals or organization involved may setstandards for inclusion or exclusion for entry and may use the system asone approach to measure the presence, absence or extent of thesecharacteristics. These standards may be based on the actual measuredcharacteristics of relatively successful or unsuccessful past members ormay be based on the preferences of the gatekeepers.

For example, the admissions committee of a medical residency trainingprogram recently divided the graduates of their program into successesand failures based upon faculty ratings of their ability to work withothers to take advantage of the learning opportunities in the residency.They then reviewed the contents of the graduates' admission essays formeasures of related abilities using the system. Table below displays theresults for these three measures.

TABLE 1 Characteristics of Successful Versus Unsuccessful Graduates:Rigidity Versus Flexibility, Team Player Versus Loner, and Sensitivityto the Environment Group: Rigidity Team Player Sensitivity Successful6.5 3.5 64.0 Unsuccessful 22.3 16.2 42.4

Using the system, the faculty's observations regarding the differencesin the psychological characteristics of the successful graduates versusthe unsuccessful graduates were translated into characteristics thatcould be detected by the system in the content of the graduates'admission essays to the residency. Rigidity versus flexibility (thelower the score the more flexible) was seen as important to a trainee'sability to adapt to new conditions, procedures, patient and staffcharacteristics. The ability to be a team player versus moreself-centered or self-involved (the lower the score the better able towork with others) was seen as critical to a trainee's ability tocollaborate with staff and faculty. Sensitivity to the environment (thehigher the score the greater the sensitivity) was deemed important to atrainee's ability to detect the emotions and concerns of others and workwith them successfully. As Table 1 indicates, the successful graduatesversus the unsuccessful candidates performed significantly better onthese measures. The residency admissions committee will now use thescores of candidates on the essay portion of their applications whenthey consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of technicallyqualified candidates for admission.

In a similar manner, individuals and groups could use their admissionsand subsequent performance data to set standards for candidates foradmission or exclusion from other graduate programs, jobs, privategroups or even dating or social relationships.

A Case Example

This case below illustrates operation of the invention, including howthe output communication appears and is applied. At the outset, emailsor other computerized communications are scanned for the selected wordsand values utilized in the three categories 20, 22 and 24 ofalgorithms—psychological profiling, key words and messagecharacteristics—as described above. These values are preferablyassembled on a single spreadsheet for each email produced by a subject.As additional emails are collected, an additional spreadsheet isconstructed containing mean scores and other values for all collectedemails for a subject. The analytical algorithms are then applied to thedata in the spreadsheets to construct critical scores.

For some of the more advanced psychological profiling variables, it isoften desirable to apply a correction factor that accounts for thedifference in the number of words per computer mediated communication.For example, if there is interest in determining whether a subject'serror rate is changing as a function of decline in concentration andattention, it is often useful to score typing or grammatical errors per1000 words. This correction factor is also useful when two or moredifferent authors are being compared or an author is being compared toothers within the work or peer group. However, in most comparisons of anindividual over time, the number of words produced, per se, is animportant indicator of a subject's psychological state and is notcorrected for.

The values in Table-2 below are taken from actual emails transmittedbetween a computer crime perpetrator and his supervisor which are thebasis for FIGS. 2-7. In this example, the invention draws from themessage characteristics category to select only messages from thecriminal to his supervisor. Table-2 contains two sets of actual scoresthat the system selects from its spreadsheets for the author to assesslevels of anger—the number of negative phrases, evaluators, and alertphrases as a first score, and the number of words per email and thefrequency of email messages to a selected recipient as a second score.As determined, typically in collaboration with the user, scores forother psychological characteristics may also be assessed by selectivelydrawing on the values in the spreadsheet from which these scores areconstructed. The first column contains the mean values for six previousemails collected by the investigator three months prior to the criminalattack. The second column contains the same selected scores for an emailcollected on April 10^(th) when the criminal's relationship with hissupervisor began to deteriorate and he became noticeably disgruntled.

TABLE 2 Example Scores Generating a System Warning Mean Scores for Scorefor Previous Emails April 10 Email Negatives 7 17 Evaluators 18 35 AlertPhrases 0 7 Number of Words 270 560 Messages per week 1 6 To Target

This example is illustrative of the most common analytical task to beperformed by the invention—detecting and assessing on a real-time basisthe extent of any changes in the subject's psychological state fromthese psycholinguistic values, followed by a computer generated outputproviding a course of action to permit a responsive action to be takento head off later problems or potential risks. The threshold referencefor signaling the existence of such changes may be determined inconsultation with the user, such as a customer, and is fullyprogrammable. Statistical values, percentage increases or target valuesderived from actual case studies may be utilized.

In Table 2 it is clear that the increases contained in the April 10^(th)email represent about double the previous mean values. This data leaveslittle doubt of the importance of the change in the criminal'spsychological (emotional) state.

In this case, the invention produces a warning output communicationcontaining three types of information. First, a general warning isissued, identifying that there has been a significant change in thescores of the author. This change is then characterized as an increasein the psychological state of anger. Second, the user is offered theoption of further inquiry to break the general anger warning down intoits component parts. In this case, the data in Table 2 are reviewedalong with a textual description of its meaning and interpretation.

An example of a textual description is as follows:

-   -   The warning you have received was based on the following        information. Mr. Smith's email message to his supervisor, Ms.        Brown, of April 10^(th) contained an increase from his baseline        in several measures associated with anger. There was an increase        of 240% in negative phrases such as “no, not, never, etc.” which        are associated with general negativity and opposition. There was        an increase of 94% in his use of evaluators—phrases that make        strong judgments about right or wrong or other personal values.        An increase in evaluators is often associated with strong        feelings about a subject and indicative of increased rigidness.        In addition, there was an increase of 107% in the number of        words in this email. Increases in number of words per email in        this context may indicate emotional arousal. The number of        emails Mr. Smith sends to his supervisor, Ms. Brown, also        increased by 500%, indicating an unusual increase in his        attention to her within the last week. Finally, Mr. Smith's        email to Ms. Brown contained the following seven alert phrases:        “big surprise, quit, fire, garbage, screw-up, relieve me of my        duties, and damage.”

Second, the user is given the option of isolating the specific words andphrases that generated these warnings. In addition, the original emailsmay be retrieved from the database and statistical module 18.

Third, the invention also generates options and recommendations for theuser, designed for the organization of the user. These options andrecommendations are fully programmable.

Table 3 below illustrates some of the possible types of options andrecommendation output(s) that may be programmed in a warning outputcommunication. These may be issued individually or in combination. Thatis, there may be circumstances where more than one output applies.

TABLE 3 Examples of Fully Programmable Option and RecommendationOutput 1. “Advise security, law enforcement and legal counsel ofconcerns immediately.” This output is generated by psychologicalprofiling variables indicative of the possible presence of anger and/ordisorganization, key words indicating the risk of violence, and messagecharacteristics indicating a possible target for this action. 2. “Notifya medical/psychological professional or employee assistance program ofour concern about the author.” This output is generated by psychologicalprofiling variables indicating the possible presence of psychopathology,including depression, cognitive or emotional instability or otherproblems, and key words and message characteristics indicating behaviorsaccompanying this state (suicidal ideas, a marked decrease in messagefrequency, an increase in error rates, decreases in typing speed,indicating difficulties with concentration and attention, etc.) 3.“Query the author's supervisor regarding the author's recent behavior.”This output communication is generated when signs of change inpsychological profiling variables and message characteristics indicativeof psychological difficulties not approaching major psychopathology andkeywords that do not indicate major immediate risks of harm to theemployee or others are detected. 4. “Notify a professional profilinganalyst of the electronic generated communications of concern about theemployee and request further analysis or assistance.” This outputcommunication is generated if the user desires more advanced analysis ofthe employee's communication and advice on management of the employee.This output communication may be generated when concerns regardingespionage, sabotage, intellectual property violations, deception orother potential violations are suspected.

This analytical process is repeated many times per email depending uponthe programmable psychological changes targeted by the user to bemonitored and to which corrective action may be desirable. As describedabove, possible programmable psychological target changes, in additionto anger include, without limitation, anxiety or depression. Alertphrases may also be designed to target these psychological states aswell as words associated with specific threats.

In addition to detecting and analyzing changes in an author, the systemcan also be utilized to create warnings when values on key variablesreach or exceed specific threshold reference levels, independent of anychanges. These may include psychological profiling values, key words oralert phrases or message characteristics. These values are typicallyderived in collaboration with the user and are tailored to the specificwork environment which are then programmed into the operation of thesystem. They may also be based on parameters derived from past episodesof computer or other violations.

For example, below is a portion of the email from the computer crimeperpetrator which is the basis for FIGS. 2-7 cited above.

-   -   “Until you fire me or I quit, I have to take orders from you . .        . . Unless he is a trained expert, I won't give him access . . .        . If you order me to give him root access, then you have to        permanently relieve me of my duties on that machine. I won't be        garbage cleaner if someone screws up . . . . I won't compromise        on that.”

Table 4 gives examples from each of the three categories of values whichcould be used to trigger a warning based on the occurrence of a singlecommunication.

TABLE 4 Examples of Single Message Warning Values PsychologicalProfiling Variables Negatives per words .03 Me per words .02 Evaluatorsper words .06 Alert Phrases fire, quit, garbage, root access MessageCharacteristics Message length 550 words

As can be seen from the text, there are an unusual number of negativesand evaluators in this excerpt, reflecting anger and value judgments,respectively. The normal values of negatives and evaluators vary bysubject group but are typically lower by a factor of 50-100%. Inaddition, on average individuals produce only one “me” per 1,000 words.“Me” can only be used in a passive position in a sentence, indicatingthat the author is the recipient of action from the environment. Highrates of “me” are often associated with the feelings of victimizationperpetrators express prior to their arts. Finally, the length of anaverage email can vary from location to location and is best establishedfor each customer. However, the average email length is approximately250 words. A message of twice that length can indicate expansiveness,characteristic of anger, and could also serve as a warning indicator.While the above examples are included for illustrative purposes of anapplication of the invention, specific constellations of values aretypically constructed to serve as warning indicators from a much largerpool of available variables in accordance with the invention. Theprogramming of the modules of the embodiments used in the practice ofthe invention may be in accordance with any known technological andprogramming language.

While the present invention has been described in terms of the preferredembodiments, it should be understood that numerous modifications may bemade thereto. It is intended that all such modifications fall within thescope of the appended claims.

1. A method of computer analysis of at least one communicationoriginated from a person, comprising: receiving with a computer the atleast one communication with each communication being comprised of agroup of words originated by the person; processing a text of thereceived group of words in each of the received at least onecommunication with a computer to determine risk posed by the person fromat least one of emotional state or emotional tone represented by thetext of the group of words in each of the at least one communication;and in response to the determined risk posed by the person from the atleast one of emotional state or emotional tone generating with acomputer an output communication pertaining to the risk posed by theperson from the at least one of emotional state or emotional tone of theat least one communication.
 2. A method in accordance with claim 1wherein the output communication is a display pertaining to the riskposed by the person from the at least one of emotional state oremotional tone of the at least one communication.
 3. A method inaccordance with claim 1 in which the display includes at least one dateof at least one of the at least one communication.
 4. A method inaccordance with claim 3 wherein output communication includesinformation regarding the emotional state or emotional tone of theperson represented by the at least one communication.
 5. A method inaccordance with claim 3 wherein the output communication includesinformation regarding the emotional state or emotional tone of theperson represented by the at least one communication.
 6. A method inaccordance with claim 1 wherein the output communication includes aresponsive action that should be taken in response to the determinedrisk.
 7. A method in accordance with claim 6 wherein outputcommunication includes information regarding the emotional state oremotional tone of the person represented by the at least onecommunication.
 8. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the outputcommunication includes information regarding the at least one emotionalstate or emotional tone of the person represented by the at least onecommunication.
 9. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the atleast one communication is an email message.
 10. A method in accordancewith claim 1 wherein the at least one communication is chat from a chatroom.
 11. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the emotionalstate or emotional tone is displayed to indicate whether the at leastone computer mediated communication contains positive, neutral ornegative content.
 12. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein: theoutput communication indicates that the author should be studied.
 13. Amethod in accordance with claim 1 wherein: the at least one outputcommunication pertains to an investigation regarding the person.
 14. Amethod in accordance with claim 1 wherein: the at least onecommunication is collected by an organization to which the person isaffiliated; and the at least one output communication is present on asystem of the organization and is directed to or from the organization.15. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein: the at least one outputcommunication is used to alter the at least one communication.
 16. Amethod in accordance with claim 1 wherein: the person uses the at leastone output communication is used to alter the at least onecommunication.
 17. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein theoutput communication includes a responsive action that should be takenin response to the determined risk.
 18. A method in accordance withclaim 1 wherein: the output communication indicates that the authorshould be studied.
 19. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein: theat least one output communication pertains to an investigation regardingthe person.
 20. A method of computer analysis of at least onecommunication originated from a person, comprising: receiving with acomputer the at least one communication with each communication beingcomprised of a group of words originated by the person; processing atext of the received group of words in each of the received at least onecommunication with a computer to determine risk posed by the person froma psychological state represented by the text of the group of words ineach of the at least one communication; and in response to thedetermined risk posed by the person from the psychological stategenerating with a computer an output communication pertaining to therisk posed by the person from the psychological state of the at leastone communication.
 21. A method in accordance with claim 20 wherein theoutput communication is a display pertaining to the risk posed by theperson from the psychological state of the at least one communication.22. A method in accordance with claim 21 wherein the outputcommunication includes information regarding the psychological state ofthe person represented by the at least one communication.
 23. A methodin accordance with claim 20 in which the display includes at least onedate of at least one of the at least one communication.
 24. A method inaccordance with claim 23 wherein the output communication includesinformation regarding the psychological state of the person representedby the at least one communication.
 25. A method in accordance with claim23 wherein the output communication includes information regarding thepsychological state of the person represented by the at least onecommunication.
 26. A method in accordance with claim 23 wherein: the atleast one output communication regards the psychological state of theperson represented in the at least one communication and aninvestigation of the psychological state of the person of the at leastone communication.
 27. A method in accordance with claim 20 wherein theoutput communication includes a responsive action that should be takenin response to the determined risk.
 28. A method in accordance withclaim 27 wherein the output communication includes information regardingthe psychological state of the person represented by the at least onecommunication.
 29. A method in accordance with claim 20 wherein theoutput communication includes information regarding the psychologicalstate of the person represented by the at least one communication.
 30. Amethod in accordance with claim 20 wherein: the at least one outputcommunication is used to alter the at least one communication.
 31. Amethod in accordance with claim 20 wherein: the person uses the at leastone output communication is used to alter the at least onecommunication.
 32. A method in accordance with claim 20 wherein theoutput communication includes a responsive action that should be takenin response to the determined risk.
 33. A method in accordance withclaim 2 wherein the at least one communication is chat from a chat room.34. A method in accordance with claim 20 wherein: the outputcommunication indicates that the author should be studied.
 35. A methodin accordance with claim 20 wherein: the at least one outputcommunication pertains to an investigation regarding the person.
 36. Amethod of computer analysis of at least one communication originatedfrom a person, comprising: receiving with a computer the at least onecommunication with each communication being comprised of a group ofwords originated by the person; processing a text of the received groupof words in each of the received at least one communication with acomputer to determine risk posed by the person from an attituderepresented by the text of the group of words in each of the at leastone communication; and in response to the determined risk posed by theperson from the attitude generating with a computer an outputcommunication pertaining to the risk posed by the person from theattitude of the at least one communication.
 37. A method in accordancewith claim 36 wherein the output communication is a display pertainingto the risk posed by the person from the attitude of the at least onecommunication.
 38. A method in accordance with claim 37 wherein theoutput communication includes information regarding the attitude of theperson represented by the at least one communication.
 39. A method inaccordance with claim 36 in which the display includes at least one dateof at least one of the at least one communication.
 40. A method inaccordance with claim 39 wherein the output communication includesinformation regarding the attitude of the person represented by the atleast one communication.
 41. A method in accordance with claim 39wherein the output communication includes information regarding theattitude of the person represented by the at least one communication.42. A method in accordance with claim 36 wherein the outputcommunication includes a responsive action that should be taken inresponse to the determined risk.
 43. A method in accordance with claim42 wherein the output communication includes information regarding theattitude of the person represented by the at least one communication.44. A method in accordance with claim 36 wherein the outputcommunication includes information regarding the attitude of the personrepresented by the at least one communication.
 45. A method inaccordance with claim 36 wherein: the at least one output communicationis used to alter the at least one communication.
 46. A method inaccordance with claim 36 wherein: the person uses the at least oneoutput communication is used to alter the at least one communication.47. A method in accordance with claim 36 wherein the outputcommunication includes a responsive action that should be taken inresponse to the determined risk.
 48. A method in accordance with claim36 wherein the at least one communication is chat from a chat room. 49.A method in accordance with claim 36 wherein: the output communicationindicates that the author should be studied.
 50. A method in accordancewith claim 36 wherein: the at least one output communication pertains toan investigation regarding the person.
 51. A method of computer analysisof at least one communication originated from a person, comprising:receiving with a computer the at least one communication with eachcommunication being comprised of a group of words originated by theperson; processing a text of the received group of words in each of thereceived at least one communication with a computer to determine riskposed by the person from at least one characteristic represented by thetext of the group of words in each of the at least one communication;and in response to the determined risk posed by the person from the atleast one characteristic, generating with a computer an outputcommunication pertaining to the risk posed by the person from the atleast one characteristic of the at least one communication.
 52. A methodin accordance with claim 51 wherein the output communication is adisplay pertaining to the risk posed by the person from the at least onecharacteristic of the at least one communication.
 53. A method inaccordance with claim 52 wherein the output communication includesinformation regarding the at least one characteristic of the personrepresented by the at least one communication.
 54. A method inaccordance with claim 51 in which the display includes at least one dateof at least one of the at least one communication.
 55. A method inaccordance with claim 54 wherein the output communication includesinformation regarding the at least one characteristic of the personrepresented by the at least one communication.
 56. A method inaccordance with claim 54 wherein the output communication includesinformation regarding the at least one characteristic of the personrepresented by the at least one communication.
 57. A method inaccordance with claim 51 wherein the output communication includes aresponsive action that should be taken in response to the determinedrisk.
 58. A method in accordance with claim 57 wherein the outputcommunication includes information regarding the at least onecharacteristic of the person represented by the at least onecommunication.
 59. A method in accordance with claim 51 wherein theoutput communication includes information regarding the attitude of theperson represented by the at least one communication.
 60. A method inaccordance with claim 51 wherein: the person uses the at least oneoutput communication to alter the at least one communication.
 61. Amethod in accordance with claim 51 wherein: the person uses the at leastone output communication is used to alter the at least onecommunication.
 62. A method in accordance with claim 51 wherein theoutput communication includes a responsive action that should be takenin response to the determined risk.
 63. A method in accordance withclaim 51 wherein the at least one communication is chat from a chatroom.
 64. A method in accordance with claim 51 wherein: the outputcommunication indicates that the author should be studied.
 65. A methodin accordance with claim 51 wherein: the at least one outputcommunication pertains to an investigation regarding the person.